Change of Scene
by Moonshine9012
Summary: *Alternate Universe* When three teens who are gifted and cursed with ancient blood are caught by the Titans, what happens?... Madness unfolds, relationships are formed, secrets are revealed, pie is served... Old and new Titans will be tested, care to join me on the journey?
1. The Beginning of Change

**Change of Scene**

_Moonshine9012_

**What's up guys? Decided a few weeks ago to write this for my friends and I. Hope yall enjoy it! Also, the Titans are as follows age wise: Cyborg-19; Starfire-18; Raven-18; Robin-17; Beastboy-17**

**Oh and if you saw any spelling errors in the story, please tell me. I'm my own editor at the moment. Thanks!**

**_(The following statements are borrowed from CalliopeMused)_ **

**1.) I don't own the Teen Titans. This disclaimer applies to the entire story. If there is a change in this status, I'll be sure to let you know. Got it? Good. I'll say this once more, for the last time this story: The Teen Titans are not mine. Thank you and good day (or night, or whatever it is where you are), keep being a great audience.**

**2.)Couples are not changing from my opinions. So, deal or go away. Flame me, and I'll laugh it off. I have just enough confidence in what I'm writing to not be discouraged by a flame or two. (If there are more flames than reviews, I'm either not doing well or attracting the wrong readers.)**

**3.) Chapter length will very. This will be a long story, and some chapters will have more happening in them. This is just a fact of fiction, especially fiction published (or close enough) so casually.**

**4.) Constructive criticism accepted, appreciated, and noted. If a mistake somehow confuses the story, feel free to ask questions. If you ask a question in a review that merits an answer (no, plot points will not be disclosed), I'll post the response on the next chapter. Reviews help me know which parts of this story are good/could be better/bad.**

Chapter 1

Change. It's what people expect most of the time. They prepare for change, whether good or bad, and adapt to the situation. Doesn't matter if they like it or not, even if they try their hardest to stop the change. In the end, it usually comes anyway. That day was a day full of change, specifically for me and my two friends.

We sat in English class, waiting for it to end, thus concluding the day. We sat at a round table in the back of the room, half asleep. Correction, me and my friend Ellie sat around the table, reading and half asleep. Our other friend, Tyler, sat on a bean bag in the corner by our table. T-Walk sat/lay there, ear buds nestled snugly in his canals, dead to the world.

Everyone else in the room sat around the other tables and were either listening to music, talking, or also close to falling asleep. Our teacher, Mrs. Melony, sat at her desk in the back of the room, browsing on her computer. She, like the rest of us, was bored out of her mind. As we sat at our table, Ellie looked up from her book and said, "Tom, are you sure about later? I mean, there are better ways of getting food and a place to sleep."

I looked up at her and thought for a moment. Ever since the Accident, me, T-Walk, and Ellie had been staying in an alleyway in downtown Forester. Not exactly the best place for anybody in the city to live, even for less then twenty-four hours. It's a miracle we haven't been at least mugged, considering we've been there a month.

"No, I'm not but what other choice do we have? The Raging Dragons may be a gang but at least they take care of their own. We'll be safe with them- safer than we are now I mean." My supposed assurance didn't do much in calming her nerves.

Lowering her voice, she asked, "What about our... problems though?"

My eyes darted around, scanning the area to make sure no one had been close enough to hear her. Looking back at her, I answered, "All we have to do is keep them under wraps and make sure nobody finds out about them. Oh, and for goodness sake, please to mention it around the Dragons."

"Might want to take your own advice" she retorted.

Both shaking our heads, we went back to reading our books and waited for the bell to ring. When it did finally ring, we gathered our things and I went over to Tyler to try and wake him up. Now, when T-Walk is asleep, it's sometimes lethal to wake him up, especially when he has his music in his ears. I slowly took a ruler from nearby and, ever so cautious and slow, began tapping him on the shoulder. It took about five minutes of constant tapping before he groggily opened his eyes.

"This had better be important" he grumbled.

"School's out bro. Come on, we gotta get back home and get ready for tonight" I said, ignoring the glare he gave me for waking him.

He grumbled again as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes before getting up and collecting his stuff. The three of us walked out of the room and headed down the hall. Getting out of the building, we followed the sea of people to the buses. Forester High School is settled in the neutral part of town, right in between lower downtown and the rich, upper city.

The city of Forester itself is set next to a bay that connects to the Pacific Ocean. In the bay, on their own small piece of land, stood the Titan's tower. _Hope we don't run into them in the gang... _I thought in vain. I knew we had too at some point, the Titans would eventually confront us one way or another. _Heh, who am I kidding? We're gonna get creamed if and when we see them._

We sat at the back of the bus, like we always did. Nobody ever sits near us, not because of how we were, it was mostly because of our looks. Ellie wore a dark green cloak that covers every inch of her body. She always wears the hood over her shrouding her face in total darkness. Along with the cloak, she also wore underneath faded blue jeans and a long sleeve, black shirt. T-Walk wore his favorite hoodie, an old white with black stripes; underneath he wears an old shirt with stick men on the front. He's kinda our comedy guy, when he has his moments. He also wore ripped up blue jeans we had saved from the Accident.

I myself wore the only set of clothes I still owned after what happened in the Accident. I wore a worn out, navy blue blazer with khaki pants and a dirty white dress shirt. None of us wore shoes, our old ones had worn out by now and we never really liked stealing. Because of this, our feet had become accustomed and adapted to the rough terrain of the city. Not that anyone saw our feet anyway, and pants (and cloak) covered them pretty well.

We all varied in height: I myself am about five foot eleven, T-Walk is almost five foot three, and Ellie is close to about five foot four. The other part that set us apart was our difference in looks: while others were, for the most part well kept, we were almost always dirty. Ellie has short, choppy brown hair and relatively white. Tyler has long black hair that falls to about his mid back. Now, just because he had long hair, he made sure no one messed with him about it. The last unfortunate soul to do that had been rushed to the hospital with a couple of bone fractures.

Tyler was never caught though, how he wasn't, I'll never know. Strangely enough, even with his long black hair, T-Walk is actually very tanned. As for me, I can definitely say I'm part of the 'special' group of looking people. I have bushy black, gray, and white hair while my skin has a kind of grayish tint to it. Now, combining that with what I have to wear every single day, it makes for a pretty weird picture.

As the bus pulled up to the first stop, the three of us rose and exited, ignoring the looks we got from everyone else. When we had gotten off, the bus almost sped off, not that anyone could blame them though. Downtown was NOT a place you would want to be if you didn't have to. We looked around for a few seconds before darting down the sidewalk and disappearing into our alleyway on the right.

As we got the back of the dead end, we each plopped down on our old, thrown out mattresses we had found in a dumpster. They were worn and disgusting but they did their jobs. Besides the thin blankets that lay on our mattresses, and the small amount of food we hid, there really wasn't anything else in the alley. We all lay on our make shift beds for who knows how long before our stomachs started growling furiously.

Getting up, I went to the only other thing in the alley, which just happened to be a dumpster. I took hold of the sides of it and pushed it away from the alley wall. A hallow in the brick wall was where we stored the precious, and little, amount of food we could either work for, find, or sneak from our lunches from school.

Taking two small paper bags from the from the small alcove, I moved the giant trash can back against the wall before walking back to my friends. I distributed the food as evenly as I could: each of us got a a small water bottle, a bag, a mini bag of chips, and a half a peanut butter sandwich. It was definitely a meager meal but it was adequate for now, considering what we had had to eat in the past.

While we munched on our food, we talked only a little but what we did discuss was important.

"So, are you still sure we should go through with this initiation? There are better ways to make a living" Ellie said, looking over at me.

Sighing, I finished what food I had left and, looking back at her, said, "We don't have any other choices, unless y'all can come up with something else in the next half hour."

T-Walk sat up from where he lay on his mattress, having already finished his meal, and said, "Look man, I'll go ahead and say this now: I'll follow you through this but if things take a turn for the worst, we're gone. It doesn't matter if we are exposed, we all get out. Deal?"

I didn't say anything, just nodded my head, and once again let silence creep back into the alleyway. Minutes passed as Ellie finished gobbling up her meal and Tyler and I tried to pass the time with rock, paper scissors. I ended up losing best three out of five with him by the the time Ellie had finished eating. Once done, we threw the left over trash in the dumpster and proceeded out of the alleyway.

Turning left down the sidewalk, we started towards the abandoned side of downtown. As we trudged along, we passed many a loiterers, drug dealers, users, thieves, and pretty much any other type of criminal out there. Downtown and the lower city was basically a different planet compared to the rich, clean, upper part of the city.

After a few minutes, we came to an old, abandoned brick warehouse that looked to not have been used for maybe fifty years. Double checking the slip of paper I held, I compared the address to the one on plastered the front of the building. Seeing as it was indeed the correct place we had to be, I looked at my friends beside me. My gaze shifted from them, to the building, then back to them. I took a deep breath and started into the crumbling structure.

Walking through what was left of the doorway, I saw that it was relatively difficult to see in the warehouse. It was late afternoon and the building had only two windows, beside the front door frame, and those only let in a little light. We started to walk forward a few feet when suddenly, bright, over head lights blared on. What looked like steel coverings shot over the windows and over the door. My arm shot up over my eyes to try and protect them from the sudden light. I only saw most of it though after I lowered my arm.

The entire warehouse had been completely cleared out of anything and everything that had once occupied it. The walls were lined all the way around with masked men garbed in black and red tunics. The masks they wore were painted with the gang symbol across the surface: a blood red dragon breathing an inferno of black flames. The rest of the designed masks were stark white.

In the very center of the room stood a tall, red robed man that was as intimidating as he was mysterious. He stood there, hood up, hands behind his back as the three of us walked towards him.

"Welcome" he said, curtly, as far from welcoming as he could be. Continuing, he said, "Stand where you are and state basic information." His voice was deep but not at all friendly.

We stopped abruptly, about four and a half feet in front of him. I glanced at my friends for a moment before looking back at the man. I could barely make out his face from underneath his hood. He looked Asian, Chinese or Japanese possibly, and had a thin white scar that traced from his left temple down to the edge of his right jaw line. His age was impossible to guess.

"Thomas Binks; seventeen years; senior in high school" I rattled out, stepping forward.

Ellie stepped- glided is more like it- forward and said, "Elliesa Collier; eighteen years; senior."

Tyler stayed where he was, wearily looking around the room, and said quickly, "Tyler Walker; seventeen; senior."

The hooded man nodded and said in his deep voice, "I am Shen. I will be overseeing your initiation."

He nodded his head again, as if to affirm his statement, before turning on his heels and briskly walked to the back of the warehouse. Coming to the back, he stepped onto a platform and it raised to the roof of the warehouse. A few moments passed before quite suddenly, we were surrounded by all of the gang members who, but a moment ago, had been standing against the walls.

"Woah, woah, woah!" I shouted, looking around wildly. My friends and I immediately jumped back into a triangle formation, our backs pressed against each others.

The robed man laughed and said, "This is your initiation: you survive, you're in. You get beaten to a pulp? Well, let's just say we don't need squealers."

My eyes continued to dart around, trying to think of something- anything- that could help us, even in the slightest. None of us had never had any kind of lessons in fighting and the stuff we did know we had picked up off the street. The odds were stacked against us because the only way to adequately defend ourselves was by using our secrets but we DEFINETLY didn't need those becoming common knowledge.

_ Crap! _I thought as I started to panic a little. I didn't need to panic long though, my panic quickly turned into a fight-or-flight instinct.

An explosion blew through the wall to our left, knocking away those unfortunate enough to be near it or in the path of debris. What looked like smoke grenades detonated nearby, causing half the gang members to double over coughing. The smoke must have been messing with them, it didn't affect me or my friends in the slightest. As the sound of coughing started, I heard two words I never thought I'd ever have to hear.

"Titans, go!"

_Ahhhhh... shoot._

**Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! Review please! **


	2. Trying to Run

**Hey guys! Here's the next chapter but first, I want to answer my very first reviews for the story:**

**Emmeline C. Thornbrooke: Thank you for both being the first reviewer and for catching my mistake, it has been corrected.  
**

**DiscipleofRevan:**** Thanks for the compliment, the next chapter is here!**

**Ok then, onto the story! If you see any spelling errors, please tell me. Thanks! Review please!**

Chapter 2

As the smoke consumed all in sight, I grabbed each of my friends by the hands and tried to drag them towards the gaping hole in the wall. We were stopped though as I saw five silhouettes disperse around the room, going right for the gang members. Unfortunately for us, that also meant that one of the shadowy figures broke away and headed straight towards us.

We didn't wait to figure out which Titan had decided to go after us, we simply ran for our lives as fast as we possibly could. Jumping through the wall, we were temporarily blinded by the evening sun as our eyes tried to adjust to the lack of smoke that had been present. When they had adjusted enough, I saw that we were in what looked like the old parking lot for the warehouse. The asphalt was split and cracked everywhere, weeds growing up through the imperfections of the ground.

We continued to run until we were about half way across the lot, which was about thirty-five yards from the building, before we slowed down to catch our breath. My heart raced as adrenaline coursed through my body and, judging by the shaking of my friends, they felt the same way as I. Well, at least Tyler did, Ellie was almost completely still besides the occasional tremor of her cloak.

"Told you we shouldn't have come" Ellie said as she looked back at the building. Shouts and muffled sounds could still be heard from inside.

"Ugh, please don't start on me now" I groaned as I stood from where I rested on my knees.

No sooner had the words left my mouth, when I heard someone shout, "There!" Turning around, I deadpanned as I saw a girl with purple clothing on, what looked like orange skin, and long red hair. She alternated from looking at us, inside the building, then back again.

"Whelp, we're screwed" Tyler said as he also looked towards the girl. The other Titans had already started assembling around her and heading out of the hole in the wall.

I turned towards him and asked, "Run?"

Glancing at me, he raised an eyebrow and answered, "Uh, duh?"

We immediately turned around and started sprinting again, trying our best to out distance them but failing miserably. Behind us, the five Titans ran/flew after us, each trying to use either their equipment or powers against us. Robin, the only Titan I could identify on sight, began throwing something like small disks and boomerangs. We were able to dodge most of them but a few managed to trip us up a bit. We made a quick recovery though before sprinting off again, the Titans hot in pursuit.

The orange girl started throwing green orbs at us that exploded when they made contact with the ground. We were only able to narrowly dodge those by our heightened agility that came with cursed blood. The short green guy tried to catch up with us by shape shifting into different animals but we were able to get away from his talons and claws, not without a few marks and scratches though. The half machine fired what looked like a sonic cannon after us.

"Why don't we just skip to the next scene?!" Tyler shouted at me as we rounded the corner onto another street.

"What the heck are you talking about?!" I shouted back at him.

He just rolled his eyes at me and shook his head. _I worry about this guy sometimes _I thought as I looked over at Ellie. I never could figure out how her cloak seemed to never part or reveal any sign of her body, even when she was running for her life.

"How can your cloak do that?!" I asked her. Probably not the best thing to do when trying to sprint.

She turned her hooded head towards me and, I assume she deadpanned because I couldn't see her face, said, "Really?! Now is definitely not the time for questions like that!"

Suddenly, we came to a halt as the orange skinned girl flew around us and stopped in front of us, her hands glowing with green orbs. "I do not wish to harm you!" she said, raising her voice. Even then, her voice was surprisingly sweet.

I looked around wildly, trying to find a means of escape. The street we were on was deserted and small, three-story buildings rose on either side of us, all of them run down and worn out. I didn't want to reveal our problems now, especially in front of the Titans, but we had no other choice. I mentally sighed, not wanting to reveal even the half of what we had to show. "Jump! We have to!" I shouted as I launched myself onto a building's roof from the sidewalk. A moment later, Ellie and T-Walk joined me on top of the old building.

We took off across the top of the buildings, bounding like deer from one roof top to the next. Behind us, I heard exclaims of astonishment that were quickly silenced as they began pursuing us once again: the half machine running along the sidewalk and the orange skinned girl along with a girl cloaked in dark blue flew after us.

"You know they're not going to stop, especially now that they've seen us right?" Tyler shouted at me as we lunged across the buildings. I looked over at him and nodded my head but didn't say anything. What could I say? We didn't have any other choice. It was either risk exposure or get caught and taken to rot in jail and Forester City Jail was NOT a place we were going to be.

Suddenly and without warning, we were all enveloped in a black, ethereal looking blanket of power. We were stopped right in our tracks and pulled back towards the dark blue cloak girl. Turning us to face her, I saw she was floating about two feet from the top of the rooftop of the building we were on and that her hands seemed to glow with the same ethereal black aura. She didn't say anything to us, just floated there, staring at us. From beneath her hood, we couldn't make out anything other than her eyes.

For a moment that seemed to last hours, I became captivated by her violet colored eyes. They were hard, cold and calculating but yet they also seemed, in a small amount, cool, controlled and... curious? _Whaaaaat?_ I forced myself from my trance and, looking over at Ellie, I said, "Uh, if you're going to do something, I'd say do it pretty soon."

"It's still day light idiot," she hissed, "I can't do anything till it's dark out. You don't want me dead do you? I think not. Besides, why can't you or Tyler do something?"

"I don't think we need either of us tearing up half of Downtown, no matter how much we may want to" I said, growling in frustration as I frantically started to try and think of ideas that would get us out of this. The three of began to descend towards the street below, the girl also descending but was a little above us. I vaguely registered that she was wearing a black leotard. As we all landed on the sidewalk, the rest of the Titans came and circled us.

Robin came up and started speaking to the different Titans. "Cyborg: go and bring the T-Car around, we're taking them back to the Tower with us. Starfire: you, Beastboy, and Raven stay and make sure they don't go anywhere. I need to go back to the Dragon's safe-house and see if I can find anything more about Shen."

He then used a grappling hook to scale a nearby building before disappearing over the roof tops. The half-machine, 'Cyborg', turned around and jogged back around a bend in the road and out of sight. That left the last three Titans standing around us, watching us with alert gazes. I really didn't see the reason as to why they were so alert, we were kind of bound together by telekinetic power that we weren't about to get out of.

The one on my left, Beastboy I think Robin called him, was interesting to say the least. He was short, about five foot three, greened skinned and pointy eared. Seeing as he could turn into different animals, it was pretty easy to tell that he was a changeling. In his current form, he wore a black and purple suit, black gloves and black shoes. The girl to my right, in front of Tyler, was the orange skinned girl Robin had called Starfire. She looked about five foot eight and, up close, she looked a WHOLE lot better than from far away.

The last Titan was the girl who still held us in her telekinetic grip. Robin had called her Raven and she certainly seemed to live up to her name. Her cloak covered the rest of her body now but I remembered seeing almost gray skin. She was about five foot five in height. Her gaze never left us and, after a while, it began to unnerve me. Her eyes bore into me like lava burns through rock. I eventually looked away after a few more moments, not wanting to become lost in her gaze, for fear of not being able to return to myself.

No one said a word for a good long while, we just stared at the Titan in front of each of us and they in turn stared at us. Seeing as we were going to be with them for longer than a few minutes, I cleared my throat and tried to break the ice. "So, uh, what's up guys?" The girl in front of me didn't say anything, she just narrowed her eyes and glared at me.

I sighed and grumbled, "Great, she looks ready to bite my head off. Nice job Tom, you got a girl to hate you in less then one sentence. New record, yippee."

Beastboy laughed at me for a moment before Raven shifted her glare to him and his laughter died down a second later. Starfire looked at us a few more minutes before she began to speak, saying, "While Robin and Cyborg are away, we will be administering questions to you three." She then started flying around and, looking at us with wide eyes, started firing questions at us a mile a minute. I could only catch about every third word of each question but I got the general idea of each one:

"Why were you with the Dragons?!"

"How could you jump so high?!"

"Do you have powers?!"

"Are you evil?!"

"Do you like pie?!"

I answered as best as I could in a few short seconds. "Uh, I'll tell you later, that's confidential, yes, no, and definitely."

She smiled so big for a moment that I worried her face would break from the sheer size of it. "Glorious! Even though we must lock you up, interrogate you, and let Raven sift through your minds, would you like to be my friend?!"

I raised my eyebrows and replied, "Uh, ok, sure.

She smiled again before zooming to my friends and repeated the process of what had just happened to me. While she spoke to my friends, I looked over at Raven and Beastboy and asked, "Is she always like this?" Raven just continued to stare at me from beneath her hood, her purple eyes betraying no emotion. Beastboy on the other hand just laughed and replied, "Yeah, Star is always like this, especially with new people."

I raised an eyebrow and asked, "Really? How come she's like this with us though? Aren't y'all suppose to be, I don't know, giving us the 'good cop, bad cop' routine or something?"

He shrugged and replied, "Normally I guess we would but I don't think we'll put you though the usual routine Robin does most of the time."

"Why?"

"You three are the first in a long time who haven't tried to fight us, just tried to run" Raven surprised me by saying in a monotone voice.

I silently mouthed 'oh' as I turned my head to try and see behind me. I could only hear Starfire talking to Tyler and Ellie though but, by the way things sounded, they had reacted the same way I had. Hearing a vehicle approach, I looked back around and saw a blue and white robotic car coming down the street. It pulled up next to the curb of the sidewalk on which we stood and, as it stopped, Cyborg got out and walked over to us.

He looked at my friends and I with distrust before turning to the other Titans. "Robin says he's heading back to the Tower now; he found some stuff that might help us with finding Shen." Glancing back at us, he asked, "They given you any trouble?"

Starfire shook her head and smiled, saying, "No, they have not. In fact, we have conversed and they have agreed to be friends!"

Cyborg looked from my friends and I, back to the other three Titans, then back to us, a skeptical look on his face. He looked at Raven and asked, "What do you think?"

Raven sounded bored as she replied in a monotone, "I just want to get these three back to the Tower so I can dump them in a cell and get back to my book- I'm on the last chapter."

"BB?" Cyborg asked the green teen.

Beastboy shrugged and said, "They seem pretty okay to me for now."

Cyborg sighed again as he turned back towards us and just stared for a minute. We stared back with blank expressions, almost daring him to try and see into us. After a few seconds, he broke the staring contest and said, "I guess I'll go along with the others for now. It's not everyday we meet criminals who Star can make friends with or get Raven this bored."

"Hey! What about me?!" Beastboy exclaimed.

"BB, I'm sorry man but you're always like this."

Beastboy huffed as I grimaced from the use of the word 'criminal' against us but until we got back to the Tower, we couldn't do much to help clear our names. I simply nodded my head but didn't get into the conversation as Cyborg turned around and walked back around to the driver's seat for the T-Car. A few seconds passed before I felt myself lift of the ground and, as the door to the backseat of the car opened, was dumped into the seats along with my friends.

Almost immediately, seat belts were forced into place around us by telekinetic power. The seat belts seem to constrict around us, locking us into place but leaving our arms and legs free to move. As the door shut, Starfire jumped into the front seat while Raven and Beastboy stayed outside on the sidewalk.

"Friend Raven, friend Beastboy, are you not coming?" Starfire asked through the rolled down window.

"I just remembered that I need to pick up a few things, I'll meet you back at the Tower" Raven replied as she disappeared into a black portal.

"I'm going to pick up some pizza" Beastboy simply said as he shifted into a bird and flew off.

My friends and I blinked as Cyborg and Starfire just shrugged. The SUV started up, pulled away from the curb and started in the direction of Titan's Tower, which loomed a little in the distance. A few minutes into the drive, Cyborg went to push a button on the dash-board on his right when Starfire caught his hand.

"I do not think we should restrain them anymore then they already are" she said as she put his hand back on the steering wheel. As the half robotic human began to protest, Starfire hushed him and said, "If they had wished to escape, they would have done so by now." Cyborg grumbled but did not reach for the mechanism again.

We continued to drive, getting closer and closer to the Tower every minute till finally, we came to the edge of the bay. Only then did I realize that the only way to get to the island was to either fly, swim, or take a boat and at the moment, we were kind of in an expensive looking SUV. As I opened my mouth to ask, I was caught off guard as Cyborg sped up and launched the car off the side of the road, over the bay. The three of us in the back all sucked in air, bracing ourselves for impact with the water. It never happened though.

The tires of the cars came out and the rims began to spin, keeping the car over the water by about two feet. We all let out our breath as we slumped against each other, adrenaline still running through us. The two Titans in the front just laughed a little at us. We drove over the bay to the Tower, where we drove right through the very front doors of the Tower, which happened to be HUGE. As we came to a stop, the two Titans got out and stood around the car, looking at us. Realizing that they were waiting for us to get out, we quickly scrambled out of the car and over to them.

As we came up to them, the car descended through the floor via platform, leaving a hole in the floor that was quickly covered by a panel that shot out over the chasm. Cyborg came up to us with three pairs of full forearm cuffs, which he put onto each of us. "Just in case" he said. He then motioned for us to follow him through the Tower, Starfire bringing up the rear of the small group. We proceeded down many a stare cases before we came to a room at the very bottom of the Tower lined with single cells along the walls. We each were put in our own cell, each with a single, small, narrow window in the door.

"We'll come and get you three when we're ready to interrogate you" Cyborg said as he closed the door to my cell. I sighed and looked around the small room. There was a single cot that came out of the wall, along with a freestanding toilet and a sink. I went and sat on the edge of the cot, putting my head in my hands.

_Welcome to Titan's Tower_ I thought with bitter humor.

**Hope y'all liked this chapter! I'll try and update every weekend from here on out. Review please!**


	3. Dreams and Interrogations Part 1

**What's up guys?! Hope your all enjoying the story as much as I am! **

**To Waterpokemon: I'm glad you like it :)**

**To DiscipleofRevan: Thanks man and don't worry about it, my internet is blah sometimes to.**

**Thanks for the reviews, looking forward to seeing more feed back! I posted a few statements and disclaimers at the beginning of the first chapter that y'all might want to go check out. Thanks!**

**Just to warn y'all, there are some perspective changes in this chapter.**

**A/N: I am going to be leaving to go to Uganda, Africa this Thursday so I won't be posting until I come back. Sorry for any spelling or word errors also, please inform me if you see any.**

Chapter 3

The cell I sat in was surprisingly comfortable, considering the current circumstances I was in. The cot I lay on was soft, the water tasted clean, the cell wasn't dungeon like- dark, dank, or cold- and the little food that had appeared before through the ceiling after sitting for a few minutes had actually tasted pretty good. The food tasting good probably was just to me and my friends, not sure if anyone else would have wanted to partake in the mush that had been set before us. I wouldn't necessarily go by me though- taking advice from a guy who's had to go dumpster diving and eating whatever he finds because he's so hungry probably isn't very good for your health.

After finishing the somewhat filling meal, I set the wood plate on the floor in front of me and watched as the mechanical arm once again descended from the ceiling and took the plate. As it disappeared into the white, seemingly flawless white ceiling, I lay down on the cot and closed my eyes, almost immediately being greeted by my waking dreams.

* * *

_The July night was dark, humid, and stormy. The wind blew through the towering buildings of the upper city, the unseen currents of air maneuvering between the steel infrastructures like the water of a river rushing in-between rocks. Giant, foreboding clouds loomed over the city, lightning arching across the sky in great flashes, as if it was waiting for just the right moment to strike the city below. _

_ In a nearby apartment complex, on the thirty-fourth floor of the building, lay a teenager, sound asleep. He laid sprawled out on the small couch in the tiny living room of the apartment, drooling on the pillow his head rested on. His parents slept in their bedroom down the hall, having gone to sleep long before the young man had arrived back home. He had gone to a formal/non-formal party that had gone well past midnight- not that anyone had really noticed though. _

_ The young man had immediately crashed when he had laid on the soft sofa, only bothering to remove his shoes before his eye lids slammed shut. He still wore his blazer, white dress shirt, and khakis that he told himself he would change out of in the morning._

_ Outside the complex, a very strange man stepped from the driver's seat of an Audi A8 and proceeded into the building. He was tall, about six-foot five, with a medium-sized build that was all muscle and not a trace of fat. He looked in the height of his prime, about thirty-two years old. He wore a long, unbuttoned black, cotton, trench coat that reached down to the ground, covering his shined dress shoes. _

_ Underneath the coat, he wore a black pinstripe suit that was worn over a white dress shirt and a silver tie. On his head he wore a black fedora with a silver skull on the front and on his legs he wore black dress pants. His eyes were a blue-green color that changed depending on how light hit them. Long, jet black hair fell to about his mid-back, gleaming in the lights of the walkway towards the front of the building. What skin could be seen, including the face, was a very pale complexion, as if he saw little to no sun light at all. On his hands he wore leather gloves._

_ He walked into the apartment complex with purpose, striding with confidence, strolling with his silver headed skull cane in his left hand. The cane he walked with was for both protection, looks, and intimidation; he in no way needed it to walk. As he walked in to the main lobby, he pulled a small device from his coat pocket and pressed a single button on it, disabling all the nearby security cameras. As he put the small remote back into his pocket, the receptionist and two security guards on duty took notice to the strange-looking man._

_ As the guards approached him, the man corrected his course and started for the elevators. The guards quickly intercepted him and said, "Sir, we're going to need to see some identification from you before we can let you go up."_

_ The man just looked at them for a moment before he nodded and put his right hand into the inside of his jacket, as if to get an ID card for the complex. The two guards were dead before they even hit the ground, a bullet in each of them. The receptionist scream and reached for a panic button below the desk before the man whipped the gun around and the women was silenced. Concealing the silenced pistol back into his coat, the stranger went to the reception desk and searched a few seconds for a pass-key for the elevator. _

_ After he finally located one, he again walked towards the twin set of elevators. Getting into one, he disabled the cameras in the car before pressing a floor button, activating the elevator. As he passed the other floors, he kept the button on the device pressed, disabling the cameras on each floor just because he was bored. Coming to his desired floor, he disabled all cameras before proceeding down a hallway, taking two rights and a left, stopping before apartment number 526B. Taking a lock pick from within the trench coat, he picked the lock and quietly opened the door, entering the apartment of the boy and his parents._

* * *

I jolted up from the cot in my cell, breath coming in heavily, my heart racing. I had had that dream again, the dream about the night of my part of the Accident. Trying to calm myself, I put my head in my heads and swung my legs over the side of the cot. There I sat, trying my best to regulate my breathing. That same dream had started to become more and more frequent with each passing week since the event. My cursed blood gave me many things, one of them was having to relive the past, whether I had been present for all of the events or not. I sighed in frustration. Semi-immortal blood was cruel, dark and twisted at times.

Getting up from the bed, I began to pace the tiny cell I had been put in, waiting for the interrogation that I knew the Titans would be planning.

* * *

**Third-Person View**

Elsewhere in the Tower, all huddled around the main computer terminal near the window, the five Titans were discussing the matter at hand. Robin was currently running data-base searches and DNA scans of the three they had caught, using skin samples that had come off when the cuffs they had put on them had been removed. The other four were looking over his shoulder, their eyes affixed to the screen. Well, really, only three were huddled around Robin, Beastboy lay sprawled out across the couch, a slice of pizza in his hand. The box lay open on the coffee table in front of him.

"Anything?" Beastboy asked through a mouth full of cheese pizza.

"Nothing" Robin replied, shaking his head and staring angrily at the computer monitor. His fingers continued to fly across the keyboard, trying to find any trace of information. With each tap of a key though, he only seemed to be getting more and more frustrated and angry.

"What do you mean: nothing?" Starfire inquired, a somewhat confused look on her face.

Robin stopped typing and put a hand on his chin, glowering at the screen in front of him. Sighing a little, he replied, "Exactly what I said: nothing. Absolutely nothing. No names, no address', no fingerprints, no license, basic information, family, nothing. Not even birth certificates show for any of the three."

"Did you run them through the international and interplanetary channels?" Cyborg asked.

"Yeah and the same thing happened: nothing came up" Robin said.

Cyborg thought for a moment he said again, "Let me try somethin' for a sec."

Robin just shrugged and rose from the chair, relinquishing it to the half machine, who fell back into it and began a rapid series of clicking and typing. While he did, Starfire went and got a piece of pizza from the box before sitting herself next to Beastboy, who was still laid out on the sofa. Raven went a little out-of-the-way before she began meditating in her floating, cross-legged position. Robin continued to stare at the computer monitor as intensely as he had a few moments earlier, watching Cyborg's every move.

Minutes passed like hours and the only sounds in the room was the clacking of Cyborg's typing, the eating of Starfire and Beastboy, the steady mantra of Raven's and the continuous breathing of all present. After a while, Cyborg sighed heavily, getting the attention of the other four Titans.

"Well, at least we know now why we can't find anything about our new friends downstairs" he said.

"Why? What is it?" Beastboy asked as he and Starfire got up from the couch, the pizza having all been devoured, and stood behind and beside Cyborg. Raven opened her eyes, coming out of her meditative state and also went over to the others. Robin just stood there, continuing to stare at the screen.

"Everything is gone" the half man said to them all.

"We already know that" Raven commented in her monotone.

"No, I mean everything is literally gone- technically, the three we caught aren't even suppose to exist" Cyborg replied in agitation.

The room went silent for a while, no one knowing what could be said to a statement like that. Starfire finally spoke up, asking, "Is that even possible?"

"Apparently it is now" Raven said.

Cyborg thought before his eyes widened and he mumbled, "Wait a minute." Bringing his hands back to the keyboard, he typed furiously for a few seconds before he grunted in confirmation. "I knew it", he said, "there was information of the three but it's all been deleted."

"That can't be possible though!... Right?" Beastboy said.

"Actually, it is possible" Robin said. "I remember a few years ago, Batman and I caught a hacker working for the Joker and a project for him. We found out it was a device that could erase any person in existence from every data base on the planet, or planets. He confiscated the device and later destroyed it but that doesn't mean that some other person couldn't try it."

"Do you think the three are connected to their information disappearing?" Raven asked, turning to Cyborg.

He shrugged and said, "No, doesn't look like it. From what small traces I can find, the information was just recently erased."

"How recent?" Robin asked.

"Like a few hours kind of recent. Whoever did this knows that we have them and they don't want us getting a hold of anything."

Everyone's eyes got slightly bigger at this statement. Who, they wondered, would be able to pull something like that off and barely leave a trace. The team continued to discuss the different possibilities of why someone would do this. They even tried tracking the source of the deletion but that ended up being a solid dead-end. They continued arguing different points and ideas before finally, Raven spoke up and said, "This is pointless. Obviously we can't glean anything from arguing about what we think. Why don't we just go down there and start interrogating them like we should be doing right now."

The others abruptly stopped their conversations and reluctantly agreed to her statements. The five Titans all got up and started their decent towards the cells below.

* * *

**Thomas Binks' View**

I had paced the room for so long, the aching of my feet had become numb long ago. I continued to pace, not knowing if my friends had been interrogated or if they were as bored out of their minds as I was right now. They were both probably either sleeping or being restless, like we always are. My pacing came to a halt when I began to hear a pair of foot steps getting closer and closer to my cell door.

I stepped back a little as the door opened, revealing Cyborg, who barely fit into the door frame. "It's time" he said, holding up the cuffs that I had had on earlier. I reluctantly stepped forward and received the cuffs back onto my hands and forearms before being led down the hall, out of the miniature cell block and into another room. The room had a simple metal chair and table, both bolted to the floor of course. I fairly large, tinted window was positioned opposite of the table and chair; a viewing window no doubt.

Cyborg motioned towards the chair and I sat obediently, fighting against my instincts to try to get out of this place as fast as I could. After hooking the cuffs to the top of the table, Cyborg exited and was replaced as Robin entered the room, shutting the door behind him with a definitive thud. He walked over to the edge of the table and just stood there for a while, arms crossed, just looking at me. I held the stare as best I could, even if I couldn't see his eyes, just white outlined by black.

We continued to stare at each other for minutes until I broke the silence, saying, "So... how long do we have to be here?"

He just shrugged and replied with a blank expression, "Depends on if you co-operate."

I raised an eyebrow at him and said, "Uhhh okay then, what do you want to know?"

"How about we start with why you were in that Raging Dragons safe-house."

_Great, he just HAD to ask. _Trying to be vague and cool but failing miserably, I said, "We were trying to join the gang... Isn't that kind of obvious?"

He frowned and grunted, saying, "Sarcasm, funny but not gonna work this time. There's more to this then meets the eye, I know it, so why don't you elaborate a little more? Why were trying to join? Why would you want to join? Are you connected to Shen in any way? Why are you not suppose to exist?!"

My former cheery mood was gone, had been replaced by both nervousness and a will to resist. I did not need this guy to go digging into our pasts, it would reveal too much about us, would expose out ancient blood. I didn't know if I could stop it but if he was going to try and find out about us, he wouldn't get it without a fight.

Putting a completely blank stare on my face, I replied, "I plead the fifth."

This seemed to agitate Robin but he did a good job of concealing it after only a moment. Taking a deep breath, he said, "Maybe I'm going to fast: why don't we start with just your name and the name of your friends."

I thought it over for a moment. I didn't want to give up anything that might be important and I certainly didn't want to speak for my friends. I would try and be as vague as I could.

"Alright: my name is Thomas Binks. My friends names I will not be telling. Ask all you want about me but I will not give up anything about them."

Robin pondered this for a moment before reluctantly nodding his head and saying, "Fine. So Thomas, why were you three trying to join the Dragons?"

"Needed a place to sleep and a steady income of food" I replied shortly.

"Why?" he asked.

My expression hardened a little as I replied curtly, "Because we did."

"But why? Don't you have family or friends you stay with?" he asked again, persisting.

I gritted my teeth and my expression hardened completely as I nearly growled, "No, we do not. Is there anything else you would like to know besides our current circumstances?"

Robin seemed slightly taken aback from my sudden change of demeanor but he did not stop the questions.

"Tell me about your powers then. What can you do?"

I sighed. It was clear that he was only asking questions that I would not be answering anytime soon unless I absolutely had to.

"Sorry Robin, answers stop here. You can keep asking though I won't be answering."

He just stared at me for a moment before shaking his head and said, "Okay but you brought this on yourself." He then looked towards the tinted window and motioned to someone unseen to come into the room. I watched as, a few seconds later, Raven entered through the door and came and stood by Robin. There they stood, staring at me, one with his arms crossed, the other with her cloak concealing the whole of her body. I started to get a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Turning towards Raven, Robin said, "Just memories of what we need to know, nothing else."

That did NOT sound good. Never the less, the girl wordlessly shook her head and started to walk towards me while Robin exited to the room, slamming the thick door. I tried to not look scared as Raven walked around the table, looking at me the entire time, and soundlessly putting her hands on my head. I waited for something to happen for a moment and, when nothing did, I began to open my mouth to say something. The words died in my throat as I felt a presence slam up against my mind, trying to gain access.

I involuntarily cried out in shock as I slammed my eyes shut and started to fight the intruder, who I realized was Raven, with everything I had. Now, when it comes to my mind and my thoughts, I protect them with zealousness that I sometimes can't duplicate in the real world. My mind is my last resort, almost the core of my being, I couldn't let it be taken from me without them having to drag me kicking and screaming into unconsciousness.

I rose the mental barriers I had learned to form around my mind, in the event I needed to keep someone out. Looked like it would pay off. I focused on the one memory I always used when fending off an attack: the memory of my parents. I strengthened this mental shield of a memory with the emotions I felt about them: love, kindness, joy, peace, happiness. Focusing on all of these emotions and the memory of my parents, I was able to keep Raven out of my mind and thus, away from information she did not need.

After a few minutes though, my barriers began to slip as my thoughts betrayed me and I began to think about their deaths and how I could have saved them. As the barriers began to slip, Raven was able to catch glimpses of different memories, though only one pertained to what she wanted to know. As she took hold of this information and started to try and intrude upon me more, I became enraged and focused on my anger, my rage, my heartache and sadness. I took these emotions and used them the best way I could think off at that moment: I thrust them upon my attacker and made them feel my pain. In theory, they would be overwhelmed by it and retreat back into the confines of their own mind.

I guess it worked better than expected, which actually frightened me a little. Raven cried out as her mind disappeared from mine and I opened my eyes to try and look at her. The only thing I saw when I opened my eyes though was black, ethereal hurtling towards me from what looked like her hunched over body. It hit me like a brick wall and my vision went dark as reality slipped from me and I fell unconscious.

**Hope y'all liked the chapter! The next one will be posted when I come back from Uganda! Pray and review please!**


	4. Dreams and Interrogations Part 2

**Hey guys, I'm back! Uganda was awesome! I'll definitely try and go again. Sorry for taking so long on this chapter, here it be! Review please! **

**Chapter 4**

The blackness of my mind surrounded me like I was trapped under water, engulfing me in it's dark inkiness with no chance of escape. No matter how much I tried, I could not find the strength the awaken myself of the bout of unconsciousness that had forced itself upon me after the ethereal explosion in the interrogation room. Either something or someone was keeping me from the conscious world or my strength had simply run out. I was leaning more towards the first though.

I floated their, unable to move or to even begin to try and figure out how long I had been in my sub-conscious state: it could have been anywhere in between five seconds and five years! (Okay, not really but you get my point) Either way it was BEYOND boring, which is kind of sad considering it was kind of my own head I was stuck in. It wouldn't come as a surprise then when I was joyed when sights and sounds began to form in my mind. I groaned then when I realized I was not waking up, my sub-conscious simply hated me for some reason and was making me finish the dream that I had seen so many times.

_ The tall man quietly opened the door to the apartment and stepped in, gently closing the cheap wood behind him. He surveyed the room around him with a practiced eye, taking in all the detail that presented itself. He was in a very short and very small hallway that connected the front door to the main part of the apartment. To his right, by the doorway, was a moderately sized kitchenette that was nearly spotless. To his left was another door that would most likely lead to the boy's bedroom, if the posters and signs on it were anything to go by. _

_ Walking down the tiny hallway, the man looked to his right and found yet another very short and small hallway with what looked like a tiny closet at the end. On the left side of the hallway was another door that would undoubtedly lead into the parents' bedroom. To his left was the living room of the apartment, where the boy was currently sound asleep on the couch. The couch, along with a coffee table, were turned toward the left most wall where a flat screen TV was hung. Walking into the somewhat spacious room, the man momentarily looked out of the giant window to the right of the couch that overlooked the city around the building._

_ The giant window let in the only sources of light at the moment, as no lights had been left in inside of the apartment. Lights from other buildings, flashing lightning, and the occasional strobe light from a club were the only things that helped illuminate the room. _

_ Turning from the window, the notorious man walked across the carpeted floor to look over the couch and see if any were on it. When he looked over, he wasn't at all surprised to find the boy sprawled out on the sofa, sound asleep. The man stared with a blank face for but a moment before turning about and swiftly heading back to the small kitchen. Quietly sifting through the different cupboards, the man searched until he had found every flammable liquid that could be used to start a good, 'ole fashioned fire. Setting his cane by the doorway, the black dressed man took the different liquids he had found and began poring it all out across the apartment in an intricate pattern that would mean nothing to anyone else but himself._

_ Strangely enough, one of the liquids he had found had been in a kerosene lamp in the linen closet by the parents' bedroom. Why someone would be so incompetent as to do that, he would never know._

_ In less then ten minute, the man had covered all of the rooms in the apartment, excluding the parents' bedroom. He had just covered the walls outside of their room instead. When he finished with but a little of the kerosene from the closet, he made a line that connected all the other paths of liquid up to the front door, where he emptied the rest in a puddle. Standing by the doorway again, the tall man pulled a cigar and match from within the folds of his trench coat. Putting the cigar in his mouth, he lifted his foot and sparked the match across the bottom before lifting it to the cigar, lighting it. Inhaling deeply, he slowly let out a cloud of smoke a he flicked the match into the puddle in front of him. _

_ The puddle ignited on contact with the match and set in motion a chain reaction of fire through out the apartment. As this was happening, the man picked up his cane from where it leaned against the door frame and walked out of the apartment. He walked to the elevator and stepped into the car that he knew would still be at the thirty-fourth floor. After a short ride down the elevator shaft, the black clothed man man proceeded to his car, passing the three bodies that still lay where they had fallen on his way out. When he got to about half way across the parking lot, the man stopped and knelt down to the asphalt._

_ Taking capsules from within his sleeve, he arranged them on the pavement in a very peculiar way before standing once more and walking the rest of the way to his car. Getting inside, he started the car engine and backed into a nearby alleyway that was tucked back in the shadows but still had a full view of the building. By the time he had gotten into position, the fire had begun to get out of control. The giant window of the apartment had been broken and smoke was billowing out of it like a great river or waterfall. The man continued to watch for minutes as the fire spread to other parts of the complex._

_ Rain finally began to fall as sirens could be heard in the distance and people began to sprint from the building's lobby; the fire had completely consumed the thirty-fourth floor by now and was making headway on other parts of the complex. The man watched intently as firefighters, police and ambulances arrived onto the scene and tried to contain both the fire and the situation. Reaching down beneath the driver's seat, he grabbed a single, compact detonator that was no bigger then the palm of his hand. Lifting his right wrist to show his watch and holding the detonator in his left hand, he silently counted to fifteen before he pressed the trigger button._

_ People frantically ran, screamed, and were throne back as each floor of the apartment building exploded one after another, starting from the penthouse level. Debris fell to the ground in great heaps as cars and unfortunate people alike were crushed by concrete, metal frames, furniture and so on. After all the floors had stopped their detonation sequences, the man continued to watch for a moment longer as firefighters rushed into the lobby to try and save anyone who might have survived the blasts. They re-emerged a ten minutes later crowded around a single firefighter who held a single teen in his arms._

_ The boy was obviously unconscious, most likely from either one of the blasts or inhaling to much smoke. Burns ran along the whole of his body and a few definitely be classified as third degree. On him he wore charred, tattered, and smoking version of what he had been wearing on the couch he had been asleep on. _

_ The building began to creak and groan under it's own weight as the boy, along with others like him, were put into ambulances and rushed to Forester City Medical where they could all be treated properly. Nearby, in an Audi A8, the truly evil man pulled out of the alleyway and turned down a back city road to avoid all the commotion. Again, as he drove, he slammed his thumb down on the detonator one last time. The capsules that the man had laid out earlier on the pavement burst into flames and poured out liquid fire, burning any who stood too close._

_ The mini explosions were perfectly timed and executed, forming on the parking lot asphalt the outline of a giant, flaming skull of silver fire. The color of the fire could be attributed to the specially treated capsules. All who saw the skull were absolutely still for minutes before the silence was broken by the sudden sound of an apartment complex finally giving out and collapsing in on itself. The crash was said to be heard throughout the whole of the city, even over the sound of the storm that started to pick up._

_ Lighting flashed and thunder boomed as else where in the city the mysterious man smiled evilly and said, "The plan is in motion."_

I awoke in the same white, bland cell that I had been in before the interrogation, a head ache pounding against the inside of my skull. The events slowly and painfully trickled back to me as I tried to me, finding myself very badly bruised. _What the...? Oh wait, that's right, I was freakin body slammed by a giant wall of energy. Always helps to get your morning going right? _I thought with bitter humor as I sat up, trying to ignore the complaints of my body. The pain would pass pretty soon though, one of the only nice perks of having cursed blood was that I heal quickly, depending on the wound I mean.

I rubbed my eyes as I tried to piece together why what had happened, had happened. I began to tap my foot as I slipped into deep thought.

**Third-Person View**

While Thomas contemplated things in his cell on the detention level of the Tower, the Titans were all assembled in the Medical Wing, also trying to piece together exactly what had happened. Robin paced the room as Starfire and Beastboy stood on opposite sides of the bed Raven was currently floating horizontal over, her eyes closed, breathing coming in slow, steady intervals. Cyborg monitored her vital signs from the screens behind the bed. Over two hours had passed since the incident in the interrogation room and still nothing had changed regarding the condition of Raven. The boy, Thomas, had seemed alright and had been taken back to his cell, where he had just wakened less then twenty minutes ago. The sound of boots connecting with the floor stopped abruptly as Robin came to a halt and broke the silence.

"Anything?" he asked Cyborg.

Cyborg sighed as he answered the agitated leader. "No Robin, for the fifteenth time this hour: no, nothing has changed about her condition. She seems to have gone into a type of meditative healing state and will only come to when she's ready."

The young man grunted as he resumed pacing for only a moment before he abruptly stopped again and punched a nearby wall. "What are we doing?!" he exclaimed, "We should be down there in the cells, getting answers out of that guy!"

"Well, if you hadn't noticed, Raven is kinda down for the count right now" Beastboy said, sarcasm only slightly penetrating his words.

"Exactly. We need to find out how he could have put her into this kind of state" Robin replied.

Beastboy was about to reply but was stopped as Starfire cut him off. "If we are going to be getting the answers out of him, then we should proceed immediately. I will go along with you Robin, Cyborg and Beastboy can stay and look after Raven."

Robin considered for but a moment before nodding his head and swiftly turned to the door and began the walk to the elevator that would lead to the detention level.

Starfire turned to the other two Titans and said, "We will be back shortly."

They simply nodded their heads and went back to watching Raven's monitors.

Starfire quickly caught up with Robin at the elevator doors and together they rode down to the row of cells. Reaching the bottom floor, the two stepped out of the elevator car and stalked towards the chosen cell. Coming to the door, they saw through the small viewing window that the teen was sitting on the edge of his cot. He had the expression of one very deep in thought: eyes slammed shut, eyebrows knitted together, feet tapping at rapid paces. It was almost a shame to interrupt his obviously important thoughts. Almost.

As Robin reached for the keypad to unlock the door though, the strangest thing happened. The young man jumped up from where he sat on his cot, prompting Robin to hesitate with opening the door. It was all the time Thomas needed. He cried out, yelling, "NO!", before clutching his head and then just collapsing onto the floor of the cell. Rushing to open the door, Robin and Starfire rushed to Thomas, who lay unconscious on the ground. Checking first to see if he was alive, Robin then began trying various ways to wake him, hitting him repeatedly in the face being an example. When what he tried didn't worked, he stood and again punched the wall, slightly cracking it.

_Great, the only two people who could tell us what happened are both down for the count, one having a supposed full blown mental melt down. _Robin thought with anger.

He ran his hand through his hair before another came to mind. How could he have been so stupid?! Rushing from the room, Robin left a very bewildered Starfire to catch up with him. Coming to the first cell that presented itself, Robin opened the door to reveal the girl cloaked in dark green that had been with Thomas. The girl looked up at Robin with surprise as he stormed his way into her small cell. She was currently laying on her bed, staring at Robin as he stared back at her for a few moments.

"Uhh, can I help you?" she asked, propping herself up on an elbow to better face him, along with Starfire, who had just entered the cell.

Robin didn't say anything for a moment as he studied her face, as she had her hood down for the first time. She had long brown hair that looked to fall at about shoulder length and and brown eyes to go with the hair. Her skin was pale, about as pale as Raven's skin was. From her face, neck, and what he could see from the out line of her body from the cloak, she was a thin girl with muscle and little to no fat at all. She was like Raven in many ways but there were two that Robin saw that immediately set the girls apart: in this girl's eyes and tone, he could see and hear happiness and joy radiate from her. Both were tinted by sadness though. Shaking those thoughts from his head, Robin walked over to the cot and looked down at the girl.

"What is your name?" he asked.

"Um, why?" she replied, a little guarded.

Robin breathed in and out before saying, "I really don't have time for games, I just need to know what I can call you."

She narrowed her eyes at him as she said, "You can call me Ellie."

"That's better" Robin said, nodding his head. Continuing, he asked, "So, I need to ask you two specific questions that you will answer. First question: your friend Thomas just put one of my team mates into a meditative healing state and I want to know how and why. Second question: Your same friend just had a full blown mental melt down about five minutes ago and I need to know why he would just before I was about to interrogate him again. Now, answers."

Ellie blinked at him as she began to process all this in her head. _Let's see, putting someone in a meditative state isn't really Tom's style and he wouldn't have turned because he doesn't want to expose us so that would mean... Ah crap... _

Coming out of her thinking gaze, she looked back up at Robin and asked, "Your team mate hadn't been trying to get into his head, had they?"

Shifting a little uncomfortably, Robin replied, "Yes, she was."

Ellie groaned as she face palmed herself. "Yeah, well there would your problem. You see, my friend Tom likes to keep what's his and the only other person who guards his mind more fearsomely then Tom would be T-Walk. They both can get a little over zealous when they protect themselves."

"So your saying he directly attacked Raven's mind?" Robin asked.

"Not exactly," Ellie said, "the way we defend our minds, or at least the way the guys defend their minds, is through emotions. I won't go into detail because that would be stupid. Basically, they force what they feel onto whoever might be attacking their psychs, either trying to keep them at bay or overwhelming them to the point where their opponent has to withdraw into themselves. I suspect, from what very little I know, that your team mate could have been so overwhelmed by Tom's emotions that it might have either damaged their brain and went into the healing state to repair or unlocked something inside her she had hidden for what ever reason. If his emotions unlocked something, she could have gone into the healing state to regain control over what ever she had previously locked away inside her own mind."

Robin soaked in what had just been set before him. While it helped him understand what could have happened, he still didn't know what had actually happened. He would have to wait for that answer though, it could awhile before one of the two woke again.

"Thank you for your information. Now, what about the second question? Why would he have a random mental blow out?"

She thought once more before sighing and saying, "Afraid you're gonna have to talk to Tyler about that, it's not for me to say."

Robin breathed in deep again before letting it out. He was just about to head out the door when Starfire put a hand on his shoulder. "I will question the next one Robin, you have much to think about."

Robin simply nodded and started in the direction of the elevator. Starfire thanked Ellie for her help and, after exiting and locking the cell door, made her way to the next cell a few feet away. Coming to the cell door, Starfire patched in the code and the door slid open. _Here goes the nothing _she thought as she walked in.

**Hope yall liked the chapter! I'll try and get the next one out by next weekend! Review please!**


	5. Interesting Exchanges

**Hey guys, here's the next chapter! Little bit of a short one but I hope you like it! (A/N: Please review. Feed back is always good from the readers bc it tells me if I need to do anything better.)**

**Chapter 5**

**Third-Person View**

Starfire stepped through the threshold of the cell that was currently occupied by a single male teenager. Thinking he would be asleep on his cot like his friends had been, the Tameranian girl immediately looked to the side of the room, where the bed jutted out from the wall. She was surprised to find that, instead of hibernating, the one named Tyler sat cross-legged in the middle of the room, his back facing the door. He breathed slowly and evenly, seemingly trying to tune out all worldly noise.

He didn't appear to notice Starfire's presence as she entered his temporary domain but only looked to relax more, stirring up feelings of confusion and unrest within her. Making sure the cell door didn't slide close behind her, Starfire cautiously walked up behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. His body almost immediately tensed as he opened his eyes and turned his head to glance at Star, who was looking expectantly at him.

"Yes?" he asked in a neutral tone at the moment.

"I am here to ask you questions regarding a friend of yours. Will you answer a few?" Starfire replied, backing up a little to give the young man space.

"Depends on what you want you to know" he said as he turned around to face the Titan, still seated cross-legged on the cold, metal floor.

Starfire hesitated for a moment before joining Tyler on the floor, mimicking his sitting position. The teen looked thoughtfully at the girl in front of him as she composed herself to ask the required questions. Tyler had seen many a pretty girl from his time in Forester and other places but never had he encountered a girl such as the one who sat before him. She seemed very thoughtful and somewhat emotional, full of life and energy, gentle and kind, just not accustomed to the English language. She seemed nice enough, for an alien girl. He couldn't say much though, he was probably as close to human as she was.

He was brought from his analyzation as Starfire (he remembered that was her name) cleared her throat and began to ask the questions.

"Forgive me if I am fast," she said, "but it is imperative that you answer this questions with urgency. Your friend Thomas has gone into some sort of deep sleep and we do not know how to wake him. This happened right before Robin and myself were about to go into his cell to administer questions about an incident earlier. Friend Ellie has already explained to us about the incident, now though we must know why your friend has gone into this sleep."

Tyler blinked as he absorbed the information that had just invaded his brain. Trying to understand, he asked, "Help me on this, can you give me a summary of this 'incident' that you keep speaking of please?"

Thinking back for a second, Starfire replied, "It started as Robin interrogating Thomas, asking different questions about both himself and a few about you, his friends. Thomas however did not answer very many before he refused to speak any more. So Robin brought in friend Raven to try and get answers from Thomas by way of telepathy. Then-"

"I'm sorry to interrupt," Tyler said, "but I think I know where this is going. Now, I'm going to need you to answer just 'yes' or 'no' to the next things I ask, ok?"

Starfire nodded her head and Tyler began a short quiz.

"Did something happen during the course of the mind duel? Whether it was a big or small event?"

Starfire nodded her head.

"Did either of the combatants fall unconscious during or after the duel?"

The Titan nodded again and Tyler grew serious.

"These last two are very important: if Thomas fell unconscious, did he talk at all in his sleep?"

The girl nodded for the third time. "Yes, we saw him through the security camera."

"Finally, explain what happen when Tom fell into this 'deep sleep'."

"Well," Starfire said, "Robin and myself were about to open the door to his cell when we saw that he had his hands on his head and seemed to be struggling against something that could not be seen. He shouted 'No!' before toppling to the ground into the sleep and has been unconscious ever since."

Tyler's expression had gone completely serious, the frown he wore on his face could have possibly darkened the lights of the entire tower. He put his head in his hand as Starfire asked, "What is it?"

Tyler looked up from his hand and said, "Non of which I'm about to tell you can be repeated or spoken of without our permission. Ever."

Starfire's eyes widened a little and she stuttered as she replied, "O-ok."

Tyler took a breath in, then let it out before he began to explain. "The problem is actually deeper then you would think. While the other person who attempted to enter Tom's mind- Raven if I remember correctly- might merely be unconscious or in a healing state now, Tom's problem is more severe then that. You see, Tom and myself have a special kind of power that allows us to... transform into a specific kind of animal, which differs between the two of us. Now, what we can turn into are no ordinary animals, they are dangerous creatures that, left unchecked and undisciplined, could potentially destroy the human side of us and make us go primal.

What Thomas did was basically a fail-safe that both of us invented in case we began to lose control or become too overwhelmed by a specific emotion, which is saying something considering we use emotions in a fight. All Thomas did was basically force a self-induced coma onto himself so that he wouldn't lose control and possibly go primal. This technique only applies to Tom and myself though because... uh, never mind. Ellie will tell you that when she's ready. Are there anymore questions now that I have explained what has happened?"

Starfire was silent for a few minutes as she tried to wrap her head around what had just been conversed. It was all a little much but at least she could fill in the blanks of what had happened. Robin would have been bringing the rest of the team up to speed and would not have been watching the security camera. There was one last thing she had to ask though.

"No, I have no further questions except this: what may I tell the rest of my friends?"

Tyler pondered this for a moment before answering, "You may only tell them it was a self-induced coma to help prevent a potential disaster. Tell them nothing else, we will explain ourselves when we are ready."

Starfire nodded. She could respect people's privacy when it was needed. She rose to leave as Tyler turned back around and closed his eyes to try and get back to meditating again. As Starfire exited the room and turned to shut the cell door, she said, "Thank you Tyler, you have been most helpful."

The young man did not reply as the door closed but allowed himself a smile as he sighed contently. _There's something about her _he thought.

As Starfire walked towards the elevator, she thought _Tyler is indeed most interesting _ and managed a small smile at the thought.

**Thomas Binks' View**

Whelp, I was in dreamland!... Again. The whole unconscious thing was really starting to give me a headache but at least it was better then letting the ancient blood take me over. Way better actually. Mustn't dwell on depressing facts though! No, I'm too busy being bored out of my mind, in my own mind!... Or at least it felt like it. I really have to make up games to play when I'm out like that...

Anyway, my boredom didn't last for very long. The light that suddenly appeared before me in my sub-consciousness was stark white and mesmerizing to say the least. It started as a little ball of energy that began to rapidly expand in the dark recesses of my mind. At first I was a little afraid and slight ticked off. _Great, the horrors of THE SAME STUPID NIGHTMARE await me. Ain't that just peachy _I thought to myself. I would try and repel the dream but I learned long before then that no matter how hard I fought, it would still come against me with relentless force.

I was pleasantly relieved then when I saw that it was, in fact, not the same nightmare that had plagued me for endless nights but something else entirely. To begin with, the whiteness radiated happiness and peace, which, in my weakened state, lulled me into dropping my guard and letting the stark white energy encompass my sub-conscious brain. Turns out I had done the most cliché and idiotic thing I could ever do with letting the other entity through my mental defenses.

I figured this out instantly and to my dismay when I felt the once seemingly safe energy start to attack my psych with vigor and ferociousness. I tried to raise the barriers I had so casually lowered but it was already to late. I was running in my own mind like a wounded rabbit trying desperately to get away from the hunter, knowing it would only end in disaster. The stark whiteness now covered all I saw in my minds eye and I was subdued in my self-induced state by a figure who was also cloaked in stark white. I began to formulate who my assailant was as they bound me in a familiar ethereal black energy.

The cloak covered their body and the hood their face but I already knew who it was before they spoke- or more correctly, before I spoke.

"Why hello Raven, it's good to see you're alright after our... uhh... argument earlier."

Raven just stared blankly at me not saying a word, so I tried again.

"Look, I think the both of us got off on the wrong foot. I'd like to get to know you more... you seem like a pretty cool person."

Again, she just stared at me, silent as the grave.

Giving up on small talk, I asked, "Ok, what do you want? I know you want something, you don't seem the type to waste their time on petty revenge of the mind."

Raven stared at me for a moment longer, her intense eyes boring into my skull. Eventually, she blinked and said in her monotone, "No, I don't make it a habit to stoop that low in my conduct but that doesn't mean I don't use it to my advantage at times."

The energy that bound me tightened a little, eliciting a grunt of discomfort from me before I asked again, "So what do you want? An apology? I don't mean to be rude but attacked MY mind."

Raven shook her head and replied, "An apology would be useless at this point, seeing as it would only stall your explanation. No, I want to know how you could have forced something to become so unstable in my mind to the point where I had to use a technique that I had almost forgotten to put back in it's place."

I was quiet for a few moments, trying to choose my next words carefully. "I was merely defending myself from you, seeing as you were trying to force your way into my mind. It seems as though my chosen method of defense did more damage then I had originally intended. Even if it is pointless, I would still like to apologize for that. I was not trying to cause you harm- just trying to force you from one of the only things I have left to protect."

Raven looked to ponder my words for a few minutes, all the while lightly probing my mind to see if I was lying. I still had the most important areas of my mind blocked off but I was too weak to try and shield anything else, thus she was able to access the smallest parts of my mind.

Eventually, she said, "A valid point, even if you were vague. We both know I'll find out sooner rather then later so let's not waste any time on pondering the subject."

She looked about ready to release me and leave but, before she could, I replied, "Oh, we have plenty of time to waste, seeing as we'll both be here for a while. So it's my turn: why did my defense affect you so much?"

The once slowly loosening grip of ethereal energy immediately stopped and once again began tightening around me like a python. Raven had also started to turn around but stopped with the loosening of the energy and turned around even as the blackness tightened around me once more. She didn't say anything and I didn't push for an answer, so we resumed staring at each other. I got the sickening feeling of despair for just a moment as I saw her eyes flash red before turning back to their original purple color.

"You... made me lose control of something that I... have difficulty subduing at times" she replied in her monotone, though it seemed forced, like she was trying to hold back something in her tone of voice.

"Really? What is it?"

"That's non of your business!" she, almost literally, growled at me as her eyes flashed red again.

My eyes widened a little as she closed her eyes and began breathing slowly and evenly. As she did this, he energy that bound me again loosened around me to the point where I slipped out from it's grasp. I landed in front of Raven, who had assumed a meditative position and was floating in front of me. I cautiously walked towards her, stopping when I was about a foot away and cleared my throat a little.

She didn't seem to react at all so I walked a little closer to her and raised my hand to poke her in the side to try and get her attention. Before I could even raise my hand, she said flatly, "Don't. Even. Think about it."

I stayed my hand and lowered it the three inches back to my side, a surprised and somewhat guilty look on my face.

"What's wrong? Is there something I can do?" I asked.

"You probably should try and get out of this plain of sub-consciousness, it might not be safe here for a few minutes" Raven replied with a frown, eyes still closed, and purposely dodging my questions.

I gave her a skeptical look (which really didn't do much, considering her eyes were shut) and said, "I'm not sure how I could do that, seeing as I'm in a self-induced coma right now and I don't exactly have telepathic powers."

"Could have fooled me" she replied sarcastically.

I was silent for a moment before she continued in her monotone, minus the sarcasm, saying, "I can get you into a semi-conscious state where you're awake but not actually awake. Will that due for you?"

I thought about it for a moment and, seeing as I couldn't go primal in the state she suggested, I shrugged and nodded my head.

"Good" she stated as she opened her eyes and once again stood on the 'ground' in front of me. Waving a hand, a black portal appeared to my right. Raven nodded her head towards it before I slowly started walking towards it.

As I got to the front of the portal and prepared to enter into this apparent semi-consciousness, Raven surprised me by saying, "By the way: I'm sorry about your parents. That was the only thing I saw before we both went under."

I stopped for a second and glanced at her over my shoulder. "Thank you... Maybe I'll tell you about it one day."

I turned my head back around walked into the portal... And a very large, semi-conscious, headache.

**Hope yall liked the chapter, review please!**


	6. Announcement

**Hey guys! Sorry I haven't updated in a while but some stuff has been goin on recently that needed to tell yall about... So I got some bad news: I have gone on a hiatus as an author for the foreseeable future just because life has gotten filled up with things and I feel stretched thin between the stories I have on here and another site. I might be able to work on the story a little during the first week or so of June but besides that, I'm not sure. I'm sorry guys, hope I'll be able to get back to yall soon enough!**

**- Moonshine9012, Author**


End file.
